She hesitated before telling Luke of her phone conversation.
“That was Captain Fitz.”
“Let me guess,” he said. “My father walked out of the hospital. We have to pick him up. Where is he?”
“Not sure, but it seems that he’s headed to his ranch. I mean your ranch. Judge Bascom ordered him picked up on a warrant. I drew the short straw.”
“Let’s go.”
“No way. I’ll drop you off at my apartment,” she said.
“Are you forgetting that we are in my truck?”
Amber blinked. She had so much on her mind, she was losing it. “Oh! How did that happen?”
“I understand, Amber. With everything going on, I feel like I’m being pulled into a million places. I have the ranch, my dad, the rustlers...what’s next?” He rubbed his forehead, thinking how happy he felt with Amber by his side and how they were working together. “What were we talking about?”
Amber grinned. “I said that my truck can get over any terrain.”
“That’s right.”
Amber thought for a while. “Why do you think Big Dan suddenly violated his probation?”
“My guess? He’s sober enough to want to check out what I’ve been doing to his ranch. But I hate to see him arrested. He was doing okay, but I don’t want him wandering around with a bum heart, although the doctor said that his stent operation was a success. Two stents in his chest and one in his leg.”
Amber grinned. “He’s better than new.”
“He’s probably feeling his oats, and now he wants to fight.”
“You must have a lot on your mind, too, like your father and your missing stock,” she said. “And winning the PBR Finals in November. And spending all your money to get the ranch in shape.”
“And wondering if our long-term ramrod is guilty of stealing Beaumont stock.”
“And wondering if the Chapmans are the good guys or the bad guys,” Amber added.
They drove in silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts.
Suddenly, Amber shouted, “Hey, look!” She pointed to a large stock truck. “Isn’t that my father driving that thing?”
“Sure is!” Luke beeped his horn and Marv Chapman beeped back and waved.
“What on earth?” Amber couldn’t make any sense out of why her father would be driving a stock truck. He didn’t have any animals.
“What’s he doing with that kind of truck?” Amber’s throat was dry and she could barely breathe. “You don’t think that...”
“Yes. I do.”
“Motion for him to pull over, Luke.”
“Okay.”
Before Luke could stop his truck entirely, Amber was out and running.
“Dad? What’s this?” she asked.
“A stock truck. What does it look like?”
“But why do you have a stock truck? You don’t have any stock.”
“I know. But I got a great deal on it.”
Amber shone her flashlight on the truck. It needed a cleaning, due to manure and whatnot. There was fresh mud on the tires, which might be from the Beaumonts’ northeast pasture.
“Who did you buy it from?” she asked.
“A couple of guys from Tennessee. They posted a notice at Porky’s Feed and Grain. I pulled the little paper off with their phone number on it, and I gave them a call. We met at Tommy Lang’s bar and did the exchange. Anything else, Sergeant?”
“Did you get a bill of sale?” she asked.
“Amber, this isn’t my first rodeo. Of course I did.”
“Can I see it?”
He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to her. She looked at it quickly. “When did you buy it?”
“Just last night.”
“I’ll study the bill of sale later.”
“What’s going on, Amber? Why are you so concerned about my truck?”
“More Beaumont stock has been rustled. This time they took a couple of Luke’s prize bucking broncs, along with five more head.”
“So you think that because I got this stock transport truck that I rustled Beaumont stock?”
“I don’t, Dad, but you got to admit that suddenly driving around in one of these things is a little out of the ordinary.”
“I drive around in a lot more unusual vehicles in my junk business, but this isn’t for junk. I’m going to use it,” he said. “With a couple of modifications.”
“For what?”
“You’ll see.”
“I gotta go, Dad. I’ll see you later.”
“Where’re you going at this late hour?”
“I can’t say, Dad. It’s business.”
“Be careful, daughter.”
She nodded and walked back to Luke’s truck. Amber sank into the seat. “I feel like Alice who just fell through the rabbit hole. I suppose you’d like to know what my father is doing with a stock truck.”
“It crossed my mind,” he snapped.
“Now, don’t go getting all suspicious. He said he bought it from some guys from Tennessee just today.” She pulled out the bill of sale and smoothed it out.
“So if you believe your father that he just bought it, then the guys from Tennessee are the rustlers.”
“Look, he has a bill of sale.” She held the paper up to him.
“You know that doesn’t mean much until you can verify it.”
“I believe my father.”
“Of course you would. But let’s drop the subject of your father for now and pick on mine.” He was quiet for a while then blurted, “What’s with these fathers of ours?”
Amber shrugged. “Beats me, but I’m asking you to keep an open mind.”
“Your father has a stock transport truck, there’s Chapman stuff all over the scene, and I’m supposed to keep an open mind?”
“Luke, you are kidding, right? I thought we agreed that the evidence was being planted. Don’t let me down, please. I’ve ruled them out.”
“I thought so, too, until your father showed up with a stock truck.”
“Let me handle this investigation! Don’t jump to conclusions,” she snapped.
He was quiet for a while, then said, “You’re right, of course, and I don’t want to fight with you.” He held out his arms, and Amber leaned into them and laid her head on his shoulder.”
“I don’t want this investigation to come between us.”
“Neither do I, but I have a feeling that before everything is over, we’ll be fighting again,” Luke said.
“I prefer to think of us as having an intellectual disagreement rather than a fight.”
“Call it what you want. The results are the same.”
Chapter Sixteen
They drove down the long, bumpy road that led to the Beaumont Ranch.
“I don’t recognize that bright yellow truck,” Luke said.
“If it has five different toucans on the back end and a big cheeseburger, it’s Brian Redding’s. He thinks he’s the Jimmy Buffet of Beaumont,” Amber said.
Luke chuckled. “Right now, he’s the getaway driver for Big Dan, absconder.”
“Do you see your father anywhere?”
Luke pointed. “He’s walking to the barn. He’s alone.”
“And here comes Brian Redding,” Amber said. “Which one do you want?”
“I’ll take my father,” Luke said, getting out of his truck.
“I’ll get rid of Brian, and absolve him of all guilt. He’ll like that. Then I’ll send him on his way.” Amber took a deep breath. “Luke, when you catch up with your father, don’t mention the warrant, please.”
“I won’t. Musketeer promise.”
“Gee, I would have just taken a little pinky s
wear, but you jumped right to the major musketeer promise,” she joked. “When you find him, bring Big Dan to me.”
“He’s all yours,” Luke said. “Oh, for how long?”
She shrugged. “I’m guessing that the judge will give him a slap on the wrist when Dan tells him that he just wanted to check on things at his ranch.”
“Meet you back here.” Luke exited the truck and the darkness swallowed him up.
Amber took the keys out of the ignition and slipped them into her pocket. It was an extra precaution, just in case Big Dan was tempted to add car theft to his repertoire. Or in case Luke was tempted to help his father escape to somewhere.
Luke wouldn’t dare!
She had to get back to those two.
It was strange being back on a ranch that wasn’t even hers but that she loved since she was a little girl. Could it be the very place her family might have stolen stock from?
Quickly, she knocked on the driver’s-side window of the yellow truck. Brian Redding was watching a DVD.
“Hi, Brian.”
He flashed a dazzling smile. “Sergeant Chapman! How nice to see you.”
“You, too. But there’s a little problem here. Big Dan should have never left the hospital. He’s a patient there. I’ll see to it that he gets back. You can feel free to leave.”
“You sure?” Brian asked. “It’s no trouble to take him back there.”
“I’m sure. Go ahead. Have a nice evening.”
“Thanks.”
She hurried over to the Beaumonts. She trusted Luke to bring his father in. It was Big Dan whom she didn’t trust.
Luke walked toward her...alone.
“Where did he go, Luke?”
“Dammit! I turned my head just once and he was gone.”
“We’ll go around the barn. You take the left and I’ll take the right. Meet you out back,” Amber said.
“Then we’ll go inside and check in there. Maybe he’ll head for my truck and make another getaway.”
Amber chuckled. “He can try, but he won’t go far. I took the keys.”
“Brilliant.”
They walked around the barn as planned, each one calling his name. But when they met, neither of them had found Big Dan Beaumont.
“Dammit, Dad!” Luke shouted. “I’m hot and tired and have to get up early to get back here. Now, show yourself and quit being such a chicken.”
“Same goes for me, Mr. Beaumont. No more games. Okay?”
“What kind of games are you playing, Sergeant?” asked Big Dan.
Amber whirled around and pointed her flashlight toward the sound of his voice. Big Dan had gained some weight since the last time she’d seen him in court, but he was still just a shadow of what he’d looked like when Valerie Lynn was alive.
“You didn’t answer my question. What kind of games are you playing?”
“No games, Mr. Beaumont. I’ll tell you straight. You’ve violated your probation by leaving the hospital. Your probation officer, Matty Matthews, is quite upset. So is Judge Bascom. There is a warrant out for your arrest. I have to take you to jail.”
“I ain’t going.”
Amber took a deep breath. “Um, yes. Yes, you are.” It had been difficult arresting Big Dan. She knew how much he and Valerie Lynn did for the whole town, and it was hard to watch an icon fall, but it was her job, and she was going to arrest him.
“Not until the work is stopped here,” he said, arms crossed.
“Are you still singing that same tune, Dad?” Luke stepped into the circle of light. “There’re a lot of people who are helping us fix up the place. They all care, and you don’t.”
“That’s their problem. No one told them to care,” Big Dan shouted.
Amber pulled out her handcuffs. “You sound like a broken record, Mr. Beaumont. Now, put your hands behind your back.”
“No.”
“Dad, do what Amber tells you to do,” Luke said.
“No.”
“Dad, quit feeling sorry for yourself. A lot of people have lost a loved one. Jesse, Reed and I lost our mother. What gives you the monopoly on grieving? We want to save the place. If you’re not with us, you’re against us.”
“Luke, Luke...this ranch killed your mother.”
“An accident killed my mother. It wasn’t the ranch’s fault. It wasn’t the horse’s fault. It just happened. It was her time to go, and God called her home. That’s what happened, Dad, and she’d never want to see you like this.”
“God called her home,” Big Dan whispered.
Luke nodded. “Yes.”
That little sentence seemed to light a spark inside Big Dan’s heart.
“I’ll go peaceably, Sergeant.”
Thank goodness, he’d been able to say the right words to reach Big Dan or else his father was finally ready to hear them.
“I’d appreciate that, Mr. Beaumont. Please turn around and put your hands behind your back.”
“Amber, is that really necessary?” Luke asked hating to see his father handcuffed. He remembered the old days when his parents were so happy together. He’d always wanted a love like they had.
He looked at Amber. She was someone special. She was independent like his mother, yet had a soft heart like she had.
“I’m so sorry, Luke, I have to. It’s department policy.”
Big Dan turned around, hands together behind his back. “Let Sergeant Chapman do her job, Luke. It’s okay. I’m used to it.”
“I don’t want you to be used to it, Dad. I want this to be the last time. The town used to look up to you, and now you’re a laughingstock. This isn’t you, Dad.”
Amber nodded. “I agree, but I’d like to add that everyone remembers how things used to be when the Beaumont Ranch was in its glory. They are proud of it, but more than that, everyone wants you to get help.”
Amber put the cuffs on Big Dan Beaumont and led him to Luke’s truck. She gently helped him into the back seat. Luke got into the driver’s seat and held his hand out for the keys. Amber dropped them into his palm.
In the back, Big Dan Beaumont kept mumbling, “God called Valerie Lynn home. She wouldn’t like to see me like this.”
Luke started his truck. “Well, Amber, we just arrested my father—isn’t it about time we arrest yours?”
* * *
“I HAVEN’T FINISHED my investigation, Luke, and you know it.”
Amber slammed the door that led to the cells at the back of the sheriff’s department. Big Dan Beaumont had been arrested, printed and given his one phone call. He’d passed on the call, but gotten a cell to himself since he was pending court transport, but primarily because no one else was in the Beaumont County lockup.
Luke shrugged. “Yeah, well, let’s finish the damn thing. You wanted to talk to Slim again. We’ll let’s do it.”
“No. I’d like to do some surveillance as soon as possible. I think that the rustlers know that we’re wise to them, and they might make one last attempt. We told Slim to continue to load the northeast pasture, so I’m going to see what might happen. And, Luke, I’m going to draw the line. I don’t want you with me for this.”
“What if there’s trouble?”
“I can handle trouble,” she said.
Just then, the door burst open and a wide-eyed, disheveled kid of about sixteen wearing a uniform stood with his arms outstretched.
“Help. A lady is having a baby. Now. At Beaumont Breakfast and Burgers across the street. Help.”
“Did you call 9-1-1?” Amber asked.
“They can’t get the ambulance started.”
“Dammit!” Luke exclaimed.
“Let’s go,” Amber said. “Luke, you can help me.”
They both ran across the street. The door was hel
d open by the same overwhelmed teen.
Amber spotted the mother-to-be in a booth at the back of the restaurant. She was a young, tiny woman of no more than seventeen. She was crying. A young man, about the same age, was patting her hand. He looked on the verge of tears, too.
“Luke, call Donny. Donny Cushman. Tell him to bring his hearse over here. Pronto!”
“Where’s the manager of this place?” Amber asked. “Ask him or her to come over and see me.”
Amber knelt down. “What’s your name, honey?”
“Tiffany McCall.”
“Well, Tiffany. I’m hoping to get you to the hospital. Think you can hold on?”
She shrugged, then cried out.
A nervous kid with tattoos on his neck and smelling of onions, bent and whispered, “I’m Johnny, one of the managers. Johnny...uh...Vanderhaven.”
Amber looked up. Was everyone at Beaumont Breakfast and Burgers under seventeen?
“Johnny, clear your customers out of here, please.”
Luke slid his cell phone into a case on his belt. “I’ll herd them out, Amber. Johnny looks a little...paralyzed. And Donny Cushman is on his way. So are the EMTs. They’re driving here in their own cars.”
“Thanks, Luke. Think you can find something more to cushion Tiffany’s head and back?”
“I saw a pile of new aprons,” Luke said and took off running. She could hear the thunk of his boots on the marble floor. For some reason, it was comforting.
It wasn’t as if she delivered a baby at Beaumont Breakfast and Burgers every day. She’d had training on delivering babies, but it was still scary.
Amber took a peek at Tiffany’s status. Poor little thing. She was so tiny. She wished Donny would get here in his hearse.
“Where is everyone?” she asked Luke. “I think Tiffany is ready to pop.”
“Lots of traffic, due to homecoming and freshman orientation events at the university. Something must be just beginning or maybe it’s just letting out.”
“It figures.”
“Luke, call the office. Emily, the dispatcher, will answer. Tell her to get the fire department to help Donny Cushman’s hearse get here.”
Amber went back to dabbing the sweat off of Tiffany’s face, letting the young woman squeeze her hand, and telling the man with her not to worry.
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